×
×
homepage logo
SUBSCRIBE

Learning fast: Payson’s Cole Penrod continues meteoric rise with steer wrestling win at state rodeo finals

By Jared Lloyd - | Jun 9, 2022
1 / 14
South Utah County cowboy Cole Penrod competes in the steer wrestling during the second day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
2 / 14
South Utah County cowboy Cole Penrod competes in the steer wrestling during the second day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
3 / 14
South Utah County cowgirl Maklee Larsen competes in the pole bending during the second day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
4 / 14
South Utah County cowgirl Madison Thomas competes in the barrel racing during the second day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
5 / 14
Wasatch cowboy Todd Sweat competes in the tiedown roping during the second day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
6 / 14
South Utah County cowboy Kaleb Dymock competes in the steer wrestling during the second day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
7 / 14
South Utah County cowgirl Taylee Ackerman competes in the goat tying during the second day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
8 / 14
South Utah County cowgirl Paisley Davis competes in the barrel racing during the second day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
9 / 14
South Utah County cowboy Luke Haskell competes in the tiedown roping during the second day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
10 / 14
Lehi cowboy Christopher Staley competes in the bull riding during the second day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
11 / 14
Lehi cowboy Christopher Staley competes in the bull riding during the second day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
12 / 14
Dixie cowboy Colt Glazier competes in the bull riding during the second day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
13 / 14
Lehi cowgirl Peyton Anderson competes in the pole bending during the second day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
14 / 14
Dixie cowboy Landon Houghton competes in the bull riding during the second day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.

Before Payson’s Cole Penrod could try his hand at the physical rodeo sport of steer wrestling, he had to get a little help.

“My older brother wanted to steer wrestle but my mom would never get on board with that idea,” Penrod said. “But Colton and Kaleb Dymock went and started steer wrestling and their mom was able to convince my mom that I’m not going to die if I do it.”

Penrod, who will be a senior this fall and lives in Genola, said that once his mom was OK, he started getting into it.

“I bought a horst in October (of 2021) and was throwing probably one steer a week to get ready,” Penrod said. “I’ve only been doing this for a little more than half a year.”

He quickly found out that it wasn’t going to be easy — or painless.

seconds)

“My very first rodeos were in Dixie and I had never done it before,” Penrod said. “I got on the steer but I was on top of it, so I flew over it and didn’t land right. I ended up smacking my head really hard and got a minor concussion.”

He kept at it and ended up making it to the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber. He said he couldn’t ignore the butterflies as he prepared for his first steer wrestling performance on Thursday morning.

“I was really nervous,” Penrod said. “I woke up at 6 a.m. thinking I was going to be late. I really wanted to get down on that steer and get him to the ground.”

When it was his turn, Penrod rode hard out of the chute and leapt quickly onto the steer.

“My motto for steer wrestling is that it hurts when you get it right, but it hurts worse when you get it wrong,” Penrod said with a grin. “My steer checked up quite a bit, so I took a nice hit to the ribs. But I got him.”

His time of 7.84 second proved to be the best in the performance, earning him the win.

“It feels fantastic,” Penrod said. “It is the best feeling in the world when you’re in that slide and you flip them off of the slide. That’s not quite what I did today, but I’ve done it before and it’s just it feels great. It’s one of the best feelings in the world.”

He said he felt it was particularly rewarding, given how he has only been steer wrestling for such a short time.

“I don’t want to say it is my calling because that sounds cheesy, but that is kind of what it feels like,” Penrod said. “I started way later than everyone else but I made it up to ninth place during the season and now I’m here. To have this performance, it’s crazy. It feels great.”

One of the cowboys he beat in Thursday’s competition was none other than Kaleb Dymock but Penrod said rodeo is rarely about competing against other athletes.

“A lot of people might think of the steer wrestlers as being crazy because they are doing this, but they are the nicest guys in the world,” Penrod said. “Everyone’s back there cheering for each other. There’s no hate if someone beats you. It’s just everyone cheering and if you get hurt, everyone knows that it hurts.”

Penrod said one of his favorite parts of competing at the state finals is being around his family.

“We have a big rodeo family,” Penrod said. “Scarlett Penrod is my cousin, and Luke and Savannah Haskell are my cousins too. I love hanging out with them. We’ve been doing this for a long time. Then we get to rodeo all week. I love it.”

Other local winners from Thursday morning’s performance included South Utah County’s Maklee Larsen in the pole bending (21.283 seconds), Wasatch’s Todd Sweat in the tiedown roping (10.92 seconds), South Utah County’s Madison Thomas in the barrel racing (16.483 seconds) and Lehi’s Ky Cowley and South Utah County’s Cooper Jacobs in the team roping (7.20 seconds).

The state rodeo finals will have morning and evening performances on Friday before the short-go performance on Saturday afternoon wraps up the competition.

All of the action will take place at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber.

Newsletter

Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter.

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)